I in no way shape, shape, or form own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Inuyasha and their respective characters.

I retain all rights to the OC character Darren. Rights to characters Samara and Saidren are shared with Henka-chan.

This story is a stand alone. The only association between this story and Shattered Dream is Darren. Therefore, certain aspects of some characters and situations have been changed to suit the needs of this story.

I in no way gain profit from the production of this story.

This story is rated Mature for adult language and situations. Possibly some sex scenes later on, not sure yet.

CH X

Fully dressed once more, Saidren stood out in the forest beyond the walls of his home. He was well outside of earshot for all but the demon among his guests. He just couldn't be there right now, with Yugi's scent still so strong on his skin. And the memory of their earlier kisses, not too mention what had nearly happened in the spring, searing his memories.

With a roar, he lashed out at the nearest tree with his flared claws, toppling it with ease. He paused, both appalled that he'd damaged a plant when he normally cared so much for them, and surprised to find out just how much that single blow had eased some of his centuries old tension and misery.

"Forgive me my friends, but I need to do this," he said softly to the surrounding trees. Tears fighting to break free of his golden eyes, he slammed his fists into trunks or slashed with his claws.

A few more trees fell before he felt he could control his rage and anguish again. Panting, he looked down at his hands, cuts and tears in his flesh from his rather vicious venting were already starting to seal themselves up. The only scars he would have would be the ones forever marking his heart.

"No more time for this foolishness, I must return to work." Even if he worked out the magic that could send Yugi and the others back, he needed Yami back first.

While Saidren was out "redecorating" the landscape, Yugi had since left the hot spring and was wandering the halls of the castle aimlessly. He just couldn't figure out why he'd be willing to kiss Saidren again, with nothing affecting the situation this time. Yes, the demon was beautiful and he had a beautiful heart too, but it was one thing to have two accidental kisses with a man, another to kiss him on purpose. Already the guilt of what might have happened was weighing down on the youth as he wandered into the garden.

As luck would have it, Darren was in the garden as well, enjoying a few moments of solitude under the sakura tree. Given that he and Joey had gone through a similar situation, and Darren was even older than Saidren, he'd no doubt be able to give Yugi some great advice on the matter.

"Darren, can I ask you about something?" Yugi asked, moving over to the prince.

"Of course Yugi, always," Darren replied in his usual calm, fatherly tone.

Yugi thought for a moment how best to explain things, but then found he couldn't really say it in any way that made sense to him, so he simply began voicing the matter. "I've kissed Saidren, twice. Both times were accidents, and Yami knew about the first and decided to let it go because of the situation that caused it. But just a little while ago, Saidren was comforting me in the main hall when I was out of my mind with grief and half asleep and I kissed him thinking he was Yami. Joey saw us that time but Saidren explained what happened. That's not the bad part though. I was in the hot spring with Saidren a little bit ago and I honestly tried to kiss him, knowing full well who he was and what was happening at the time. Not because I love him or anything, he just... He's just so lonely, I wanted to make him feel better if only for a little bit."

Darren listened to this quietly, looking up at the sakura blossoms. "I see. Well it's a good thing you didn't kiss him just now. I take it Saidren was the one who stopped you?" Seeing Yugi nod out of the corner of his eye, he continued. "You see Yugi, while your gesture would have been done out of kindness, odds are you would have hurt Saidren beyond repair. I've seen how he looks at you from time to time. It's much the same way I used to look at Joey when Kaiba was still an obstacle between us.

"As such I know just the sort of damage such a kiss would do. It would give Saidren a taste of what he wants most in the world, and he'd indeed want more. One or both of you might have lost control and things could have gotten out of hand beyond an innocently intentioned kiss. Though I somehow suspect, given his strength so far, Saidren would have pulled back before things got past a kiss. Still, the damage would be done. You'd not only feel guilty for kissing another man willing, knowing full well he wasn't Yami, but you'd feel guilty for giving Saidren a fleeting taste of what he will never be able to have, you.

"So you see Yugi, it's a very good thing you didn't kiss Saidren. As it is now, he'll have the memory of those two accidental kisses with you once we return home. But had he not stopped you, then he would have been haunted by the memory of that kiss and the feeling of your lips on his for the rest of his days. Had Saidren not resisted, you would have unintentionally condemned him to a living hell."

Looking down at the boy, Darren saw Yugi on the verge of tears, his chest rising and falling rapidly as the fear of what horror he would have wrought sunk in. So quickly the prince knelt down and placed a soothing hand on the boy's shoulder. "I didn't tell you these things to frighten you, Yugi. I merely wished for you to know that what happened is for the best. Perhaps it'd be best if you avoided Saidren as much as possible right now. Your feelings and heart are in turmoil, making your innate kindness a dangerous weakness for once. I will speak with Saidren and explain to him."

Giving Yugi a comforting pat on the shoulder as he began to calm down, Darren left the garden to hunt down their host and pass this on to him.

Alone once more, Yugi walked over to the sakura tree and leaned against it. His mind was still in turmoil from all that Darren had said, but now he could feel confusion in his heart. Namely it was wondering what would break it more- losing Yami, or leaving Saidren?

Sesshomaru sat in Kaede's hut beside his Young ward, Rin. At only 11 years old, the girl was already blossoming into a lovely young woman. Some years ago, Sesshomaru had even considered taking her as a mate when she came of age, but then realized two things: the first that his feelings towards Rin were more fatherly than anything, and secondly that if he mated her he'd be a hypocrite given his condemnation of his father's mating to Izayoi. So now what he intended to do was help her find a male worthy of her kind heart when she came of a proper age.

"I trust your time here has been enjoyable?" he asked his daughter as he looked into the embers of the fire pit before them.

"Of course my lord," Rin said. She still addressed him in this way after all these years. And he wasn't about to correct her, he was royalty after all. Though a part of him wanted her to call him Father. "Has anything of interest occurred to you lately?"

"Nothing worth bothering you with," he said. Sesshomaru was a very honest male, and in his mind, the recent events weren't worth informing Rin about.

Yami floated nearby Sesshomaru and this young woman, Rin. It was certainly a confusing sight for him to see this cold, brutal demon acting almost fatherly with a human girl of about eleven or so. He'd have to confront the demon about this when they were alone. And he'd wait until they were alone because he suspected that Sesshomaru would merely ignore him right now.

When Sesshomaru finally rose and bid Rin farewell, Yami hovered closer to him, not sure just how far the tether of the Puzzle piece the demon carried went. "So who was that young woman?" he asked finally.

"No one of consequence to you," came Sesshomaru's cold reply. Which told Yami that she was someone very close and important to Sesshomaru, all he really needed to know. Oh there was nothing really he could do with the information, but it was certainly interesting to know that this demon, who was so intent on gaining power and causing his family to suffer, had someone he actually cared for. Perhaps, perhaps Yami could work that side of him to get back to Yugi.

Saidren sat in his bedroom, contemplating how best to go about securing the missing Puzzle fragment from Sesshomaru. He wasn't worried about his brother setting up wards or anything, he was arrogant enough to think he could handle any threat. What he was concerned about was Sesshomaru destroying the piece he had just to make sure no one else could have access to the power of Yugi's Puzzle.

As he planned his attack strategy to reunite Yugi and Yami, a thought that wrenched both his heart and his stomach, Inuyasha came in and leaned against the wall.

"Can I help you little brother?" Saidren asked without looking up from his thoughts.

"Tell me about Samara," Inuyasha replied with his usual bluntness.

That had the elder youkai looking up, a hint of shock in his golden eyes. But it was replaced a moment later with something of a distant gaze as he recalled his younger sister and lover. Rubbing a clawed hand over his mouth, he leaned back a little as he tried to figure out where best to start.

"That's a hard thing to answer, honestly. There's so much to know about her, I hardly know where to begin." he said after a moment. "I suppose can tell you about the woman she was." His golden eyes slid closed and a slight smile came to his face. "Samara was everything you, Sesshomaru, and myself could never even hope to be. She was a kind hearted soul as I'm sure you've gathered by now from what I've said of her in the past. She seemed to have this... connection to life and joy itself, the way Sesshomaru is connected to power and aggression.

"Now that's not to say our sister was without her thorns. Like all of us, she too wielded weapons our father had forged. Hers were a pair of blades shaped like crescent moons. One would necrotize with a touch, the other could heal just as easily. Something of a fusion of the swords you and Sesshomaru wield, a balance of life and death. But she rarely used them, only in the most dire situations would she draw her weapons. Often she preferred to not risk bringing harm to other beings, leaving that task to the rest of her family."

As he opened his eyes once more, a sudden lack of emotion seemed to come over him and his voice. "Much as she and I tried to make it work, knowing neither of us was the other's destined mate did create some strain. And that, combined with your sudden death, are no doubt what helped break her heart and hasten her off to the next life."

A scowl formed on Inuyasha's face at this shift in tone from his eldest sibling. "What the hell's wrong with you? Earlier when you brought up her death you looked like you were on the verge of tears, now it's like it doesn't affect you at all. She was our sister, and your mate. She deserves more than that."

With a sigh, Saidren rose and walked over to his baby brother, rested a hand on his shoulder. "Do not mistake my tone for a lack of feeling. But recent events, combined with those memories, have made me realize that life, and mine in particular it seems, can often be nothing but a series of losses. You little brother have been fortunate in that you have finally found happiness and time to mourn those you have lost. With our brother's most recent actions, I can no longer afford the luxury of mourning."

Inuyasha frowned again. "Who I've lost?"

Saidren gave a little smile. His sibling could truly be thick at times. "There's your first love, the priestess Kikyo. Though I sometimes wonder as to the extent of her feelings of love for you. Had her heart been as much for you as yours was for her, she should have hesitated before firing that arrow, she might have questioned whether or not it was actually your claws that tore into her side, despite what her eyes told her.

"But the far more important loss in your life was that of your mother. Izayoi was beautiful inside and out. Even Samara agreed that your mother's heart outshone even her own, and that is indeed saying something. I know it's been a long time since her death, but from what I've gathered, you've never really had the time until now to mourn her loss. Now with Naraku gone and your quest finally at its end, perhaps it's time for us to give thanks to Izayoi for giving life to you in the first place."

Inuyasha prided himself on being strong, and being a tough shell to crack. But his brother was striking just the right cords to make his bad ass persona to waver just a little. He wasn't crying, but his eyes did glisten with a bit of moisture and his ears were notably drooped. "How can I do anything for her memory at this point? I don't even have anything of hers to bury or anything like that."

"You've honored her memory every day by simply being who you are. By being there for your friends, for knowing love and embracing that you are not a complete demon or a human, but rather a joining of the two forged out of two people who defied those around them and followed their hearts." Saidren gave a sad smile and pulled his little brother into his arms. "And there's plenty of room in my garden for a second tree."

Author's Note: Latest chapter up and running. Saidren just can't seem to win can he folks? But he's clearly not letting that stand in the way of doing what he feels is right. It's still up in the air if I let Yugi and Saidren stay together even though this story is clearly based on pairing them together, so you'll just have to keep reading to see if they live happily ever after, or if it winds up like the first part of another one of my stories.

As always dear readers, your comments are appreciated.